The Cowboys opened the match in convincing fashion, winning the first set. But New England responded with the eye of the Tiger, winning the next two.

However, Killdeer found a spark in the fourth set and rallied from the brink of disaster after New England appeared on the verge to wrapping the match after. The Tigers, playing in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, opened a 17-14 lead, but Killdeer answered with a 6-0 run that was powered by some laser serves from Steena Larsen.

But New England went on a 3-0 run of their own, cutting the gap to 21-20, forcing Killdeer head coach Allison Steffan to call a time out, to disrupt the Tigers’ momentum.

It worked. After both teams traded scores, Killdeer’s Bridgette Reiss hammered a spike the front row and Taycee Butts delivered the set winner from the back row that culminated a 3-0 run for the victory.

In the finale, New England jumped out to a 5-point lead on three occasions, the last being at 8-3 when Hailee Kuske dinked a shot into an open area in Killdeer’s defense.

After another momentum-stopping time out by Steffan, the Cowboys went on a 5-1 run, which cut the gap to 9-8. During the run, Larsen served up an ace, Sydney Anderson delivered a thunderous spike.

After trading points, the Tigers won a long rally in which both teams made great saves, that made the score 11-9.

With the crowd at it feet and at its loudest, Killdeer muffled that enthusiasm by attacking and forcing two New England errors to tie the score 11-11.

But three crucial Killdeer errors and a spike down the line by Kuske gave the Tigers the victory.